Cement exports up 33pc during nine months of FY-2019

ISLAMABAD: The exports of cement from the country witnessed an increase of 32.81pc during the first three quarters of the current fiscal year as compared to the exports during the corresponding period of last year.

The cement exports from the country were recorded at $221,258 million during July-March 2018-19, as against the export of $166,597 million during July-March 2017-18, according to the latest data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

In terms of quantity, the cement exports witnessed an increase of 55.44pc, from 5,188,661 metric tonnes during the nine months of FY18 to 3,338,065 metric tonnes in the same period of FY19.

Meanwhile, on a year-on-year basis, the cement exports witnessed a decrease of 8.83pc during the month of March 2019 as compared to the same month of last year. The cement exports from the country during March 2019 were recorded at $ 15.392 million, as against the export of $16.882 million in March 2018.

On a month-on-month basis, the cement exports witnessed a negative growth of 1.29pc as compared to the export of $21.519 million in February 2019.

It is pertinent to mention that the country’s merchandise trade deficit plunged by 13.02pc during July-March 2018-19, as the deficit contracted by over $3.544 billion to $23.672 billion in the period under review, as against the deficit of $27.216 billion recorded during the same period of the previous year.

The exports during the period under review witnessed an increase of 0.11pc to $17.08 billion from $17.064 billion during July-March 2017-18.

On the other hand, the imports declined by 7.96pc to $40.755 billion from $44.281 billion recorded during the first nine months of the previous fiscal year.